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When it comes to parenting, I think the majority of moms and dads wish they could enjoy a little more good old fashioned quality time with their kids. However, given the numerous directions most parents are pulled in on any given day, these opportunities can oftentimes get lost in the shuffle. Until now. One of our Parents Advisory Board members and Professor and Vice Chairman of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Harley Rotbart, M.D., has written a new book with hundreds of little ways parents can make everyday moments special. I’ll turn it over to him to explain further:

Parents.com has been kind enough to allow me to share a few words about my “No Regrets”approach to parenting, and tell you about the new book, No Regrets Parenting – Turning Long Days and Short Years into Cherished Moments with Your Kids (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2012). I’m a pediatrician, Professor and Vice Chair of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital Colorado, where I’ve practiced for the past 30 years.

Each day with young kids can feel like a week, and each week like a month. But as every new birthday passes, childhood seems to streak by at warp speed. “No Regrets Parenting” is a fresh, commonsense approach to time management for those of you who shudder at the thought of your kids growing up too fast, leaving for college, becoming young adults before you’ve had a chance to fully experience their childhood.

NRPis not like other “time management strategies” that are geared for efficiency with kids rather than for intimacywith them,for organizingrather than optimizing time with your kids. How to get everything done is not the same as how to make the time with your kids meaningful and memorable. NRPis about capturing the precious moments of parenting that otherwise are lost in the name of efficiency. It will show you how to transform the mundane and exhausting routines of parenthood into special parenting events. Car pool, bath time, soccer practice, homework, dinner hour, and sleepovers can all become more than just obligations – they can be opportunities, for intimate quality time with young kids. NRP teaches parents the important difference between minutes and moments. It’s not how much time you have with your kids, but how you spend the time you have that matters in the life and legacy of a young family. NRP helps you find the time to feel good about your kids’ childhood – and still get it all done!

As a pediatrician, I am privileged to observe best parenting practices but, unfortunately, I have also witnessed parenting strategies that aren’t working. Too many sad stories from parents whose careers and adult responsibilities so overwhelmed their lives they felt as if they had missed knowing their kids. Childhood had gone by too quickly. Parents wishing they could do it over again, re-prioritize. Parents with profound regrets.

NRPis for busy parents in our busy times. So there will be no regrets.

The days are long, but the years are short. And now is the time.

No Regrets Parenting is available as of today, 2/21/2012, in bookstores everywhere, and at all online book vendors (you can buy it here). The book will be excerpted in the March issue of Parents. Also, see the blog, follow the tweets and share No Regrets Parenting Facebookposts, all linked at www.noregretsparenting.com.